8th Annual Charles Green Lecture in Law and Technology
About the Lecture
The Charles Green Lecture in Law and Technology is funded by the Charles Green Endowment, established through the generosity of Mrs. Joseph Galvin. The public is cordially invited to attend. The events are free and no registration is required. For more information, call 312/906-5090.
The Role of En Banc Review at the Federal Circuit
The Federal Circuit is unique among the federal circuit courts of appeal because its decisions set nation-wide legal standards. Its national jurisdiction also results in few splits in authority between it and the regional circuits, which is often a reason the Supreme Court agrees to hear a given case. Consequently, when the court decides an en banc case, its impact is of considerable importance. It has immediate national impact and can send a signal to the Supreme Court for possible review. Notwithstanding the importance of these cases, much ambiguity surrounds how the court decides to take a case en banc. Judge Gajarsa will address the en banc process at the Federal Circuit, the reasons why the court would take the extraordinary step of granting en banc review, and whether the court, given its unique role, should take more or fewer cases en banc in order to promote uniformity in U.S. patent law.
Comments on Judge Gajarsa's lecture will be provided by Greg Vetter, who is an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Houston Law Center and Timothy J. Malloy, a Partner at McAndrews, Held & Malloy, Ltd.
The Honorable Arthur Gajarsa
The Honorable Arthur J. Gajarsa, was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit by former President William Jefferson Clinton, and was confirmed by the Senate on July 31, 1997. He entered service on September 12, 1997.
Judge Gajarsa's background and experience includes extensive work in the patent/trademark field. He served as a patent examiner for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office from 1962-1963 and as a patent adviser to the U.S. Air Force from 1963-1964. In private practice he served as patent adviser at the law firm of Cushman, Darby and Cushman from 1964-67. Judge Gajarsa also served as a law clerk to The Honorable Joseph McGarraghy of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C from 1967-68. He then accepted an appointment as an associate counsel in the Office of General Counsel, Aetna Life and Casualty Co. from 1968-69, then as special counsel and assistant to the commissioner of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Dept. of Interior from 1960-71. While in private practice, he worked at Duncan and Brown from 1971-72; Gajarsa, Liss and Sterenbuch from 1972-78; Gajarsa, Liss and Conroy from 1978-80; Wender, Murase and White from 1980-86, and, finally just prior to being appointed to the federal bench, Judge Gajarsa was a partner and officer at the law firm of Joseph, Gajarsa, McDermott and Reiner, P.C. from 1987 to 1997. In his legal career, the judge practiced administrative and corporate law which included extensive practice before various federal government agencies. He also had an active litigation practice in Native American water and land rights and intellectual property law.
Judge Gajarsa received his B.S.E.E. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York in 1962. He then received his M.A. in international economics from Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. and also received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1967.
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